


Family Portrait

by blooming_atlas



Series: Family Portrait [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Ada Wong being cryptic as hell but also looking out for Jake and Sherry because someone has to, Ambiguous/Open Ending, And because Leon would want her to, Children of Characters, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Married Couple, Sherry and Jake are awesome parents with three special children, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24793534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blooming_atlas/pseuds/blooming_atlas
Summary: Jake and Sherry Muller settle into a life of semi-domesticity with their three children but a familiar face from the past threatens to destroy all they hold dear."No one's ever really gone."
Relationships: Sherry Birkin/Jake Muller
Series: Family Portrait [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896118
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Family Portrait

“Mommy! Rowan’s tearing up my homework! Make him stop!” Sherry stirred the spaghetti and cast a harried eye toward the living room, where the shrieks were growing louder. “Jake! Get Rowan away from Wrenna.” He was already on his way. The screams grew louder, evidently while he was in the process of peeling the red-headed little boy away from his eight-year-old sister’s homework, but in just a few minutes blessed peace settled over the household, except for an occasional grumble from Wrenna as she set about redoing her pages. Jake appeared in the doorway with a giggling Rowan draped around his neck.

“What do I do with him now?” 

“Play with him. Or put him in the corner for five minutes. Something.”

Six-year-old Joan was sitting at the kitchen table industriously practicing her letters, working to get them exactly right. Her bright blue eyes _( the same shade as Sherry’s )_ were serious as she said, “He won’t like being put in timeout.” Sherry huffed and went back to stirring. “I was joking, honey.” Of their three children, Joan was the most like Sherry, with her mild-mannered nature and seriousness. Wrenna was bustling and confident like Jake, meeting life head-on, while Joan stood back and watched in silent awe of her big sister. Sherry took the time to give her youngest daughter a reassuring hug, while Jake carried Rowan outside to distract him with something energetic and, Sherry hoped, nondestructive.

Rowan was a surprise baby, born two days after her birthday. They hadn’t intended to have any more children, content with their two daughters, but a heated quickie after surviving a B.O.W attack had resulted in a little boy that they should more accurately have named Tornado. Even before he could crawl, Rowan had been squirming to be put down so he could explore. When he learned to crawl, the entire household was off and running, trying to catch him before he could get into whatever mischief he’d found. Now that he was two, Sherry was beginning to consider taking up drinking like Leon—for herself.

It was funny how things had worked out.

She and her husband Jake—she still couldn’t believe that this wonderful, yet difficult man was her husband—had been married for nine years now. She and Jake had held out on marriage until some of their problems had been worked out, namely her work with the Government and Jake’s shady past.

She was still an Agent, but the day-to-day operation had been turned over to Leon, while Sherry herself concentrated mostly on preventing future outbreaks from happening, which never ended. She earned a decent salary now, her hours were more regulated, and she was never away from her children overnight. Jake took up a steady job of exterminating stray B.O.Ws in places where the B.S.A.A. couldn’t reach and was often partnered up with Chris whenever the soldier needed an extra hand. The two of them had long since made their peace with each other after Wrenna’s birth, and Chris had slowly become the closest thing Jake ever had to a fatherly role model _( not that Jake will ever admit it )_.

Sherry had been relieved almost to the point of tears when he told her what he was doing because she’d been worried to death there was no legitimate job where he could use his "particular" talents. Jake had flat-out refused to work a normal desk job and he was much too restless and short-tempered to work in customer service. Getting paid to screw over Umbrella and kill their pet monsters had become Jake's permanent career. 

They would never be rich, but they had plenty of money to support their children and afford a few luxuries, so that was fine. Living in her condo, with so many close neighbors, had made the lone ex-merc antsy. Jake, bless him, hadn’t complained, but Sherry had seen how restless he was, and increasingly jumpy from being around so many nosy neighbors. By the time she was five months pregnant with Wrenna, he was getting on her nerves with his paranoia so much she knew they had to do something, so Jake had scouted around and found a house far enough away from other people that he could relax, but not so far away that Sherry felt isolated from the rest of the world.

It was an older house, pleasant, with shade trees in the yard and four roomy bedrooms. At the time, they hadn’t known they would need all four of them. They had bought the house, fenced in the yard for the baby’s safety, bought a large Akita that Jake had personally trained to protect Wrenna, and settled in. She’d been happy. Though she’d still had her doubts when they finally did get married, she’d been almost deliriously happy with him. Watching him with their children was a delight that still made her heart squeeze. He’d approached Wrenna cautiously as if she were made of glass, but he’d determinedly learned how to change diapers and all the other things one needed to know with a baby. It was sweet how devoted he was to their little family. 

Discipline was a theory he hadn’t quite managed to understand; he’d explained to Sherry, with complete and rather baffled frustration, that the kids cried if he scolded them, so he’d had to stop. The situation had to be dire for him to get stern, with the result that all three children were shocked into instant obedience if he so much as raised his voice or glared at them until they settled down and played quietly.

Spankings were off the table because Sherry firmly believed spanking to be barbaric and Jake would sooner shoot off his foot then lay a hand on their children. It wasn’t fair; Sherry sometimes felt she could scream her head off and the children wouldn’t pay the least bit of attention to her. That was an exaggeration, because they were semi-normal _( all three children had inherited their parents’ abilities and would no doubt grow up to be twice as strong as their grandfather )_ , bright, inquisitive, generally obedient kids, which meant that some days they were a real pain. Sherry loved that she could be exasperated with them. The children were her world and she would be damned if they didn't have a normal childhood.

One of her greatest fears, while she’d been pregnant, was that the tragedy of her past would turn her into a distant, uncaring, cold sort of parent like her parents had been. She hadn’t been certain she was fit to be a mother and had taken extra parenting classes with Jake to make sure that they were both prepared for their little bundle of joy. Thank God Wrenna had been such a capable child; by the time Joan had arrived, Sherry had relaxed. Then they’d had four peaceful, mostly idyllic years—until Rowan. The two years since his birth had been joyous, but not peaceful.

“Want to wash your hands and help me set the table?” she asked Joan, who obediently moved her homework off the table and ran off to wash her hands. Wrenna said, “I want to help,” and rushed out of the living room, following Joan to the downstairs bathroom to wash her hands, too.

Sherry set the big bowl of salad on the table, then checked on the rolls in the oven. They were a nice golden brown, so she took them out and put them in the breadbasket. Jake came back in with Rowan and took him to wash the worst of the dirt from his face and hands while Sherry poured the spaghetti in a colander to drain. The girls were busy putting out the plates and flatware when the doorbell rang. _It was probably Ms. Esperanza with the latest neighborhood gossip._

Sherry sighed. It never failed; if there was going to be an interruption, it invariably happened as they were sitting down to eat. “I’ll get it,” she said, passing Jake as he came out of the bathroom with Rowan tucked safely under his arm. She opened the door and looked up at a tall, striking woman, with dark hair and clad in red. At the sight of her, Sherry’s knees went weak and she sagged against the door, wariness burning her eyes.

_Ada Wong._

From the instant she saw the woman’s face, she knew. The woman smiled softly. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I—are you Sherry Birkin?” Even after all these years, she was still just as beautiful and mysterious. A red shadow disappearing and reappearing whenever it pleased her. It was no wonder Leon could never shake her off. Ada Wong was hard to ignore. 

“It's Sherry Muller, now,” she managed to say. Ada Wong nodded politely and darted a sharp look over her shoulder. Sherry knew Jake had come up even before his strong hand slid around her waist and drew her against him in support. “It’s been years since we’ve last seen each other, Little Sherry,” she said softly. “I couldn’t risk sending a letter, and it was far too dangerous to contact Leon...so I’ll just come right out and say it.” Ada’s dark eyes studied Jake’s face, red lips pursed in a thin line. “Albert Wesker is alive.”

_..._

_No..._

Sherry’s face was wet, her eyes overflowing; the tears blurred Ada’s features. A sob burst out of her before she could stop it, and an unnaturally cold expression crossed Jake’s face. Just as suddenly the sob turned into resigned laughter, and she reached out and gently took Ada’s hand. “Tell us everything,” she said and drew her into the house.

Dinner would have to wait.

**Author's Note:**

> \- I know I said that it would probably be impossible for Sherry to have children, but think of the possibilities! Jake is a survivor of the C-virus, and with Albert Wesker's genes flowing through his veins, he's the only male in the world who is compatible with Sherry and can have children with her. Wrenna was a miracle baby, Joan was conceived because Jake wanted to have another little girl with Sherry, and Rowan was born out of passion after Jake and Sherry survived a particularly deadly B.O.W attack. Let's just say that screwing in the backseat of their getaway car without a condom had seemed like a good idea at the time.
> 
> \- Still, Sherry and Jake love their children and have so far provided them with an idyllic childhood. 
> 
> \- As for their jobs...I just couldn't see them living as normal civilians. Sherry is still under the "protection" of the Government and Jake is just too damn restless to ever live a normal life. Like, can you imagine him working at fucking Walmart? He'd probably get fired on his first day!
> 
> \- It took a very long time for Jake to let his guard down around Chris but after Wrenna's birth, the two of them had a very long conversation and made their peace with each other. Because Chris is much older than Jake, he took him under his wing and started looking out for him. Jake being Jake snapped and snarled, but Chris was super patient and after a while...they became friends. They became family. Jake didn't have a Claire or Leon to watch his back like Sherry...but he has Chris and that's enough. Chris genuinely cares for Jake's wellbeing and is super protective of him so it would make sense that he would accompany Jake on B.O.W hunting trips.
> 
> \- I was going to have Leon break the news about Wesker's fate...but my love for Ada Wong shined through. Plus, I can see her acting as a silent protector for both Sherry and Jake. She would also fill Jake in about his father because she knew him longer than anyone. She's usually super careful and doesn't show herself, but she felt that Sherry and Jake needed to learn the truth about Wesker being alive sooner rather than later. It's just a shame that every time she stops by to visit, there's always bad news. 
> 
> \- Wrenna has Sherry's blonde hair and her father's eyes. Joan has Sherry's eyes and strawberry blonde hair ( I wanted Jake and Sherry to have a daughter with a mixture of their hair color ). Rowan is a replica of his father except he won't grow up to have a chip on his shoulder like Jake.
> 
> \- All three kids will probably become Agents like their mother, but that's a story for another day. 
> 
> \- I am a firm believer that Albert Wesker is alive or he has a clone somewhere. He's just too big of a baddie to die and maybe in the next game he'll make an appearance. 
> 
> \- The family dog is named Poncho.


End file.
